


The Book of the Green Field: Introduction

by Guede



Series: The Book of the Green Field [1]
Category: Football RPF
Genre: Actual Historical Resource List, Alternate Universe - Historical, Gen, Multi, Pseudo-academia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-20
Updated: 2015-08-20
Packaged: 2018-04-16 07:17:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4616298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guede/pseuds/Guede
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is the pseudo-academic introduction to my series <i>The Book of the Green Field</i>, complete with fake footnotes.  If you want to see the historical resources I drew on, skip to the end.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Book of the Green Field: Introduction

_The Book of the Green Field_ is either a fantastic, fantastically aggrandizing lie that would put Benvenuto Cellini to shame or a discovery that will rewrite the history books—the appeal to the cliché is unfortunate but nothing less will do. It is also apt on more than one level given its subject matter, which claims to be wholly historical yet ventures on flights of fancy that would not be out of place in a medieval bestiary. At any rate, it is surely the most unique and intriguing text to emerge from an era in which the unique and intriguing was quite commonplace.

A capsule historical background will be useful in constructing a frame for this controversial, potentially fraudulent but always marvelous story. In 1492, the same year in which Christopher Columbus set sail for the Far East by way of America and Luther hammered the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation onto the door of a Wittenberg church, Paolo Maldini masterminded one of the great political coups of Renaissance Italy by defeating Ludovico Sforza’s army outside of the walls of Milan, killing Sforza and thus installing himself as Duke of Milan. Ludovico Sforza was a son of Francesco Sforza, the great _condottiere_ who had married into the then-ruling Visconti line of Milanese dukes and had eventually became Duke himself. So although Ludovico Sforza has been reviled by historians past and present for stealing the duchy from his nephew, the rightful heir, his claim was in fact based on a legitimate line of descent.

Paolo Maldini shared a Visconti heritage with the Sforzas, but his claim to Milan was, in strict legal terms, much flimsier. His Visconti blood was the product of a fourteenth-century liaison between an unnamed Visconti male and one of Milan’s many celebrated female beauties1. While his line was later legitimated by special dispensation from the Pope, it was with the special proviso that none of its descendents would ever rise to the ducal throne2. Of course we now brush this aside, but mainly based on hindsight’s ability to see that Paolo Maldini and not Ludovico Sforza was the one history remembers as being Milan’s greatest duke. Admittedly Maldini was hardly an outlier in the way by which he came to his duchy; murder, bribery and outright wars that carried unusual candidates to the pinnacle of a city-state were commonplace. But during the Renaissance form was even more important than substance—witness the architectural marvels such as St. Peter’s Basilica, designed very much based on their ability to impress and less so on the known capabilities of the architects—and so historians have long been fascinated with why Maldini appeared to receive rapid acceptance of his elevation3. In contrast, the entire Sforza line was commonly reviled as usurpers.

No doubt social rank and family connections played a part—the Sforzas came from good stock but the dukedom of the Viscontis was overreaching for them, even in a land with the dreams of Dante and the morals of Machiavelli. On the other hand, it was widely recognized that the Maldini family was among the oldest and most respected in the region, and had only lost their shot at ruling power through the political clumsiness of their ancestors4. And despite the inconvenient conditions of the papal dispensation, several Sforza opponents had at various times sought to name Maldinis as leaders of potential rival factions. Francesco Sforza himself saw the wisdom in forestalling this danger by co-opting Cesare Maldini as an advisor5. His son Ludovico would later choose the more direct method of attempting to massacre the entire Maldini family in order to accomplish the same aim.6

But the Sforzas too had their proponents, and more importantly, they had immense financial assets, a crucial resource in a time where bribery was an expected courtesy. At times they also had the balance of the Church on their side, yet they never mounted a serious challenge to Paolo Maldini’s legitimacy as Duke7. More tellingly, under Maldini the populace of Milan was astoundingly pacific: Paolo Maldini held the dukedom for fourteen years and apart from a few largely noble-instigated flurries at the outset of his reign, never suffered a popular revolt8. Such a record is virtually unheard of among Renaissance Italy’s ruling class. Of course Maldini displayed extraordinary skills not only in diplomacy but also public relations, but he also faced near-constant warfare and the accompanying heavy drain on Milan’s finances. To have successfully held off the French army, then the premier fighting force in Europe, is an accomplishment in itself—to have done it _twice_ , while also defending against the forces of other Italian city-states—sometimes including the papal lands—and keeping his subjects tamely willing to foot the bills for it all, virtually justifies sainthood9.

However, for all his clear ability, Paolo Maldini was not a saint. Nor did he achieve the long list of great feats rightly accredited to him by himself. He was as noted for his own ability as for attracting and, more significantly, retaining the loyalty of some of the great geniuses of his age. In statecraft Alessandro Costacurta’s role has long been acknowledged, and recent releases of hitherto confidential documents have proven that Filippo Inzaghi’s talents have been grossly underestimated or consigned to the trashbin of mere rumor for many years10. Gennaro Gattuso and Marco Materazzi are still folklore heroes in some rural areas around Milan, although this is admittedly more for individual physical prowess and humorous anecdotes, respectively, rather than any real gift11. And in the military field Maldini could call on such illustrious names as Andrea Pirlo, Roberto Donadoni, Henrik Larsson, Marco van Basten and of course, Alessandro Nesta. Nesta’s famed fidelity to Paolo Maldini in particular was pivotal on more than one occasion in thwarting the plotting of the Sforzas with Pope Julius II, thanks to his familial connections in Rome12.

Even a casual student of Renaissance Italy will notice that there is a gaping hole in the above list. _Il Mago_ , _Il Genio_ , or simply Zlatan: the greatest _condottiere_ Italy ever saw. 13 Some military historians even go so far as to argue that he was the greatest military mind of the entire Renaissance, and his record against such formidable contemporaries as Cesare Borgia certainly makes a strong case for it. At any rate he was one of the most eccentric, for historians agree he saved Paolo Maldini from Sforza’s slaughtering sword and then remained faithful to first Maldini and then Maldini’s son Christian for well over two decades. Strange for a mercenary, when it was common practice for such men to be paid by both sides in a conflict—once to fight a battle and then again to avoid it. Stranger still that his faithfulness endured despite the considerable monetary and other blandishments offered to him by Maldini’s enemies at a time when it was clear Maldini had absolutely no way to match such offers14.

As a result, the years have seen much wild speculation over the nature of Maldini and _Il Genio_ ’s relationship. Modern historians have commonly theorized about some form of blackmail or a secret pact of mutual benefit15, but they have always encountered difficulty in reconciling such musings with the apparently peaceful, permanent departure of Zlatan from Milan in 1517. Less popular theories about some kind of earlier personal acquaintance have run into similar problems, since Maldini’s movements during the early years of his life are relatively well-documented and provide for no meeting with Zlatan before that fateful day in 148816. 

Contemporaries were more salacious-minded, accusing the two men of having unnatural relations. Such rumors, cast in a less malicious form by a more liberal modern society, have traditionally been accorded some weight as Zlatan seems to have never married or even maintained a mistress for any length of time despite numerous opportunities17. In addition, such relationships between men in Renaissance Italy, despite the bad public press, were fairly common among the nobility, particularly members with humanist leanings and Maldini certainly kept such a court18. Maldini was also rumored to have carried on a passionate affair with Alessandro Nesta for many years and the documentation for it is reasonably compelling19.

But no similar proof has been found for such a relationship between Maldini and Zlatan, so most serious historians have ultimately found such a theory unsatisfactory. Until now, if the contents of _The Book of the Green Field_ are to be taken as containing even the smallest shred of veracity.

The existence of _The Book of the Green Field_ has been rumored for centuries, till it has become nearly as mythical a text as the lost books of Aristotle. _The Book of the Green Field_ is supposed to be a full and frank account of Zlatan’s life, written down as part of a family history jointly commissioned by Christian and Daniel Maldini 20. It is said to contain a description of the mysterious early years of Zlatan and Paolo Maldini’s partnership and of the later, better-documented but no less enigmatic years in which the triumvirate of Maldini, Nesta and Zlatan resolutely kept Milan independent of France and of the Holy Roman Empire and laid the beginnings for Italy’s eventual unification21. If such is the case, then the text would singlehandedly rewrite—nay, write completely fresh the history of one of Milan’s greatest Dukes, one of Italy’s great military minds and, quite simply, _Il Condottiere_.

 _The Book of the Green Field_ is first mentioned obliquely in a letter from Daniel Maldini to his brother Christian that has been dated to 1521, in which Daniel merely informs his brother that he has made arrangements for a scribe to take dictation from Filippo Inzaghi for their family history 22. A careful study of the ducal accounts for that year reveal that Christian accordingly made available generous funds for a manuscript of some size23. Some of them went to a nearby monastery, indicating that originally it was not to be printed, but instead done in the old manuscript style with lavish illumination. A few illustrations in the surviving version may in fact be originals from this first drafting, but as Christian withdrew the work from the monastery only a year later24, it is unlikely that much, if any, of the text itself was produced there. The monastery apparently considered the work of no great significance and never referred to it again. 

The text is not heard of again for some years, until the late 1520s when the defeat of the French king Francis I by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V led Milan to seek closer ties with the Habsburgs. By then Daniel had married into the Habsburg line and was clearly the best choice to act as Milan’s ambassador to the Emperor. During his stays in Spain and Germany, Daniel’s and his brother’s letters to each other deal largely with political matters, but here and there he alludes to various investigations he is undertaking for private family matters.25 It has been argued that these tangents were unrelated to _The Book of the Green Field_ as Zlatan is not known to have spent a significant time in Germany. However, both men make a point of distinguishing these inquiries from any hint of statecraft or espionage and it is clear that whatever the ‘family matter’ is, it is of interest only to them. Furthermore, in one letter Daniel quite unequivocally says he is having difficulty uncovering some information and Christian replies that Daniel is to await further instructions, as Christian has found a clue to its whereabouts in Henrik Larsson’s diaries. Of course, by then Larsson had been dead for years and it seems highly improbable that anything he would have written would have still applied to current political affairs. Larsson also was known to be a close confidant of Zlatan and of Paolo Maldini, so the more reasonable explanation is that Daniel and Christian were examining his private papers for insight into their father’s personal affairs 26.

After that the text seems to drop out of sight. No further mention of it is made in the ducal accounts. One partial letter from Christian to Daniel may imply that Christian had passed over responsibility for the text to his younger brother27, but Daniel’s accounts show no expenditures that can be assigned to the book28. A final mention of the ‘family history’ is made in a letter Adriana Maldini wrote to Daniel just before her death29. In it she says she was not able to read all of it due to weakness, but that what she read, she liked very much. She congratulates her son for his work, from which some have drawn the conclusion that the first draft must have been completed by then.

The text is not heard of again till Milan finally passed into Habsburg hands as an eventual consequence of Daniel’s marriage30. It is listed in several catalogs of the ducal library, and there is a record of it having been sent out for repair in the early seventeenth century31. No record of it returning exists and it is quite probable that at this point _The Book of the Green Field_ slipped out of Milanese hands. Paradoxically, around the same time the noted historian G. H. Ede cited it several times in his famous history of Renaissance Italy, thus starting the _The Book of the Green Field_ on the path to its current famed status 32.

Since then the exact whereabouts of _The Book of the Green Field_ cannot be pinpointed with any accuracy 33. All that is known for certain is that during a renovation of a Milanese bookshop in the first years of the second millennium A.D., a cache of books was discovered hidden between the shop’s thick walls.34 Most of the texts were degraded and incomplete copies of already-known volumes and were thus of interest to only specialists, but one text had been carefully wrapped in proofed leather and hidden beneath the others. This text was what is now known as _The Book of the Green Field_.

It was miraculously well-preserved considering the circumstances of its finding and how long it must have remained hidden. Modern technology’s advances in deciphering old texts such as it have rendered virtually the entire work readable, allowing translations to be made, and recently several in-depth studies have been published on the original text. The serious student of such subjects should of course refer to the footnotes, but a short summary of the most widely-accepted findings as well as a few of the many controversies that have arisen since the book’s discovery can be attempted.

The book contains eleven stories of varying length, on high-quality vellum and linen rag-paper. Analysis of the method of binding indicates that the entire work was put together sometime around the mid-sixteenth century, and none of the stories have been dated to later than that35. All of the stories are written in Latin or the vernacular Milanese current during the early sixteenth century, though several linguistic studies have theorized based on certain grammatical peculiarities that some of the stories were originally written in other languages and later translated36. In style, however, _The Book of the Green Field_ is something of a mongrel, for some stories have been set down by hand, while others have been printed 37. Furthermore, several of the stories appear to have been set down at the same time by the same printing press, likely located in Milan38, but at least one of the hand-written stories, _The Tale of the Smith_ , has been dated to the late fourteenth century, well before the reign of Paolo Maldini39. Another of the stories has had its paper traced to Valencia and there is good evidence that the story itself may have originally been written in Spain40.

The hand-written stories also make it quite clear that more than one author was involved, and even the printed stories have shown some indications that while they may have shared the same printer, they did not share the same writer41. However, an editorial hand can clearly be discerned in the arrangement of the stories and in the continuity of certain subjects, such as the celebrated wolf’s-head sword of Zlatan and Zlatan himself42. It can therefore be said that in format _The Book of the Green Field_ resembles more such compiled works as the medieval romances of King Arthur and of the Irish hero Cúchulainn rather than a one-author work such as the _Decameron_. Its tone and themes too seem strangely reminiscent of the heroic cycles of earlier times, with an often-pessimistic treatment of life that is wholly absent from Renaissance’s lively, forward-looking humanism, and _The Tale of the Smith_ , with its werewolves and magical swords, certainly owes more to the credulous fables of the Middle Ages rather than the growing skepticism of the Renaissance. On the other hand, _The Book of the Green Field_ is remarkably realistic in its depiction of personalities and cause-and-effect; some of the passages elucidating the political and personal motivations behind actual historical events could rival Machiavelli in their incisiveness, besides offering a radical version of what truly happened if accepted as truth. The stories also contain a strong sensual thread that is wholly lacking in any moralistic or religious bent, although this is not quite in line with Renaissance attitudes either.

Of course, the most unique and intriguing part of _The Book of the Green Field_ for many is the last story, _The Tale of the Pilgrim_ , which not only alleges to recount the actual end of _Il Condottiere_ but also to contain excerpts from a letter actually written by Zlatan. 

The circumstances of Zlatan’s death have remained something of a mystery for centuries: all that was certain was that upon his return from the Low Countries in 1520, Daniel Maldini gave his brother with a vase of ashes that he claimed belonged to the famous general43. The ashes were promptly accorded a grand state burial, but suspicion lingered44. At the time it would have been politic, since Milan was seeking closer ties with the Habsburgs, to have presented such a noted scourge of Habsburg armies as dead, and both Christian and Daniel had proved to be every bit as diplomatically skilled as—and in some aspects more ruthless than—their father. Daniel uncharacteristically encouraged such rumors by refusing his entire life to explain where he had found Zlatan or how the man had died, and Christian always referred such questions to his brother45. If _The Tale of the Pilgrim_ is to be taken as fact, then it will finally lay to rest this mystery.

Several of the tales also would throw much light on the nature of the relationship between Zlatan, Alessandro Nesta and Paolo Maldini if true, but the alleged excerpts of Zlatan’s letter would provide the strongest proof of all. The excerpts are, though printed, apparently transcribed faithfully from an actual letter for they have many idiosyncratic grammatical arrangements and expressions that appear nowhere else in _The Book of the Green Field_ 46. The personal characteristics of the author revealed by them also arguably accord well with what is known of Zlatan’s personality. Unfortunately, no other example of Zlatan’s writing has survived and so such comparisons rely mainly on accounts written by others of Zlatan’s mannerisms and speech47. Consequently debate rages on about whether _The Book of the Green Field_ , for the first time, offers a direct insight into _Il Condottiere_ ’s mind48.

At least some of the furor is due to the extraordinary conclusion _The Book of the Green Field_ offers us, which is simply that Zlatan did it for love. If such a claim is true, then history will have rediscovered what is surely one of the greatest love stories of all time. If not—then _The Book of the Green Field_ is still undoubtedly a wonderful relation of enduring love through a turbulent time. Either way, it is a great jewel on the crown of the Renaissance, and can hold its own with the glittering gems that already crowd onto that golden circlet.

* * *

**Notes:**

1\. The Duke of Milan, Bernabò Visconti (1349-1385) at the time referred to a cousin of his who had died during the Black Plague and left the raising of his bastard son to his mistress’ family, the Maldinis. Which cousin cannot be pinpointed with any accuracy, as quite a few members of the Visconti line succumbed to the plague. It has also been suggested that Bernabò himself was the father, as he had at least twelve known illegitimate sons and daughters.

2\. The dispensation also guaranteed that any descendents would be considered to be full members of the Maldini family, which at the time was quite powerful, albeit centered largely in Venetia and the Emilia-Romagna region. However that branch of the family soon suffered a rapid decline and outside of Milan the Maldinis were virtually extinct by the beginning of the fifteenth century. They remained among the first rank in the Milanese nobility, but were very much a local power when Francesco Sforza married Bianca Maria Visconti.

3\. See P. G. Nat’s excellent rendition of Paolo Maldini’s reign in Milan, _Paolo Maldini: Elegant Iron._

4\. It is believed that the fourteenth-century Maldinis initially consented to such restraints on their claims to the duchy because they were more concerned with protecting their holdings in Venezia. Thus they were attempting to curry support with Bernabò Visconti, a noted general in his day, in return for military support. For more information on the early Maldinis, one should not fail to consult _A Tragic Dynasty: Maldini in the Middle Ages_ by Pomona Knat.

5\. By all accounts Cesare Maldini and his predecessors made for deeply loyal, intelligent advisors to the Dukes of Milan who also retained respect from a wide stratum of Milan. S. M. Lee has attempted to make a case that prior to his death, Cesare Maldini had been contemplating revolt, having grown disenchanted with Ludovico’s tyranny and suspected poisoning of his nephew Gian Galeazzo, the true heir to Francesco Sforza. It is probable that Cesare Maldini harbored feelings of disgust towards Ludovico, but that he ever intended to act on those feelings seems doubtful in light of his character. The evidence is very slight, resting largely on two letters of Cardinal Broccini, who had allied himself with Ludovico and whose nephew Pietro had reportedly been killed by Zlatan. Hardly an unbiased observer, Cardinal Broccini.

6\. By then the Maldini family was greatly reduced, with most members living in or near Milan, and Ludovico Sforza was extremely thorough. It is estimated that he had killed nearly thirty members of the Maldini family, from old women he dragged out of convents to young babies. It is not known for certain why Ludovico Sforza harbored such a hatred for the Maldinis, but Cesare Maldini is known to have frequently opposed Ludovico’s policies while Ludovico was acting as regent for Gian Galeazzo. And although it is unlikely that Cesare Maldini would have actively opposed Ludovico ruling in his own right (see note 5), it is plausible that he would have passively withheld his support, which could have made Ludovico’s rule difficult given Maldini’s popularity among the Milanese.

7\. The Sforzas certainly attempted serious challenges, but none of them progressed even to the stage of spreading a successful rumor in Milan about Paolo Maldini’s claim. It appears that virtually all of Milan simply discussed such talk out of hand. See S. M. Lee’s paper on rumors as a political weapon in Renaissance Italy, “Gossip: The Real Fifth Column,” _The Journal of Renaissance Political Studies_ (1987): 10-37.

8\. These ‘revolts’ were in fact little more than failed attempts by various lingering Sforza supporters to call the people to arms in Milanese public squares to march on the ducal palace. Most of Milan was heartily sick of Ludovico Sforza and had been glad to see him die, and those that hadn’t had largely been killed with Ludovico in his final clash with Paolo Maldini’s army. As a result, these minor public disturbances were quickly put down by Paolo Maldini’s Swedish bodyguards or by the people themselves, and ceased as soon as Paolo Maldini had the time to reorganize the city to exclude Sforza loyalists.

9\. Of course Paolo Maldini’s reign was not without complaints against taxation, but compared to other Italian city-states of the time, they were remarkably mild. In fact, P. G. Nat has pointed out in her examination of graffiti and of government documents that such complaints were largely directed at papal taxes—which had to be paid in addition to city taxes—or at Maldini’s enemies rather than Maldini himself (see note 3). No doubt it helped that Maldini worked extensively to improve Milan’s position in the business and trading world. He negotiated more trade treaties than his last three predecessors combined and incredibly, by the end of his reign Milan’s wealth had tripled. M. Brigitte, “Milanese Finances 1492-1506,” _The Journal of Milanese History_ (1989): 1985-2009.

10\. The Filippo Inzaghi biography, _Pippo the Puppeteer: A Study in the Diplomatic Arts_ by Rosa Rotomagus, is eccentric at times but offers an exhaustive survey of Inzaghi’s recently discovered private papers, particularly his activities in thwarting various attempts to unseat Paolo Maldini. Interestingly, it confirms the old rumor, also mentioned in _The Book of the Green Field_ , that Inzaghi was responsible for the Lampard-Mourinho association which laid the foundation for the English navy that later defeated the Spanish armada. Of course, Spain at the time was ruled by Philip II, a Habsburg and a direct descendent of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I who so troubled Paolo Maldini. A cold revenge? Once it would have seemed unlikely.

11\. For instance, Gattuso is once said to have been accompanying Pirlo during a campaign in high summer when they came to a dry spring. Pirlo wished to move on, but Gattuso leaped down, cursing the ground for not quenching the thirst of good men like themselves who were fighting to keep it free of the French. He then either punched or kicked the spring’s bed so hard that a fountain of water rose knee-high from the spot—at least five springs in Italy are said to have originated from that fountain. Materazzi is somewhat more interesting from a historical perspective as he seems to have been a companion of Zlatan’s from very early on. According to folklore, they met when Materazzi offered Zlatan, newly-arrived in Italy, to take him by boat to a banker where he could get some ready cash. Instead Materazzi robbed Zlatan, then dropped Zlatan’s goods or foreign coins in deep water while attempting to throw Zlatan overboard. Zlatan overpowered Materazzi, told him he was a terrible robber and said if Materazzi stuck with him, he’d teach the man how to do it properly. From then on, goes the tale, they were the best of friends. T. T. Arbor, _An Anecdotal History of Il Condottiere_.

12\. Although Alessandro became the last of his branch of the family after the assassination of his brother’s family by Cesare Borgia, he had several healthy cousins who remained in Rome and who seemed to have looked to him for political guidance, as they invariably used their influence to favor a pro-Milan position. See R. Katha’s informative book, _Nesta: Il Cavaliere_ for a full biography of this remarkable man.

13\. Zlatan’s attributed aphorisms alone could not be adequately summarized in such a small space. He has proved a difficult figure to describe even given an entire series as attempted by B. Saint-Samedi, partly due to his polarizing effect on historians. Therefore it is highly suggested that the interested reader seek out at least three works on him in order to begin to gain a well-rounded portrait of the man. The aforementioned series is lengthy but provides a strong overview of all research to date, the material in _The Book of the Green Field_ excepted. Other suggested starting points are T. T. Arbor’s papers in _The Journal of Milanese History_ , M. B. Flush’s _I Know Zlatan: Il Condottiere as Through the Eyes of His Contemporaries_ and the classic _The Genius of Zlatan_ by D. Oak.

14\. P. G. Nat’s definitive study of ducal documents and recently-released material from the Vatican archives has proved this was not mere slander but actual truth. See “The Early Years of the Maldini-Zlatan Association,” _FBS Letters_ (2002): 68-126.

15\. For the best of these theories, read S. C. Onate’s paper “The Dark Side of the Paolo Maldini—Il Condottiere Alliance: A Stillborn Scandal” in _FBS Letters_ (1988): 1994-2002.

16\. As a younger son, Paolo Maldini may have flirted with the notion of entering the priesthood. At any rate, he was accepted as a teenager into service in Cardinal Marcello Lippi’s household and developed such good connections that for the next ten years he was often sent to Rome as an ambassador for both Milan and his father. He met Alessandro Nesta during this time and consequently his movements during these years are—some would say tellingly—better documented if one studies Nesta’s life. See note 12 for suggested reading.

17\. It would not do to fail to mention that a minor oral tradition in Sweden holds Zlatan had a mistress there during his two-year stay in Stockholm, and that this mistress was the mother of Gustav Vasa, thus implying that Zlatan managed to interpose himself in the family tree of the royal House of Vasa. The parallels between Zlatan’s and Gustav I’s personalities are interesting, but are likely only parallels. It is interesting that _The Book of the Green Field_ also alleges Zlatan had a Swedish mistress, but it still fails to mention any offspring of such a union and in light of the context, such a failure seems much less omission than a simple confirmation that there were no such children. In addition there are other problems such as chronological impossibilities, which are laid out in great detail in D. Oak’s thorough paper “Debunking a Myth: Zlatan Is Not the Father,” _Journal of Swedish Folk Studies_ (2004): 35-74.

18\. See J. Grandtree’s translation of the diaries of Ludovic Giuly, who served as court poet in Maldini’s Milan from 1500 to 1506.

19\. The classic work on Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Nesta is _The Devotion of Angels_ by A. Loup. However, it is unnecessarily harsh towards Zlatan, considering that apart from one two-year period, Nesta appears not to have had serious problems with his long-time colleague of the Milanese army. After they reconciled in 1508, he even named Zlatan as godfather to one of his children, and Nesta was known quite well for his distaste for the usual Renaissance practice of using such events as political maneuvers.

20\. _A History of the Italian Renaissance_ , G. H. Ede.

21\. See note 20.

22\. _Letters of the Maldinis_ , Vol.6, translated by T. R. Chardin.

23\. M. Brigitte. “Ducal Expenditures of Christian Maldini, 1520-1525,” _The Journal of Milanese History_ (2006): 3-28.

24\. See note 23.

25\. See Vol. 7, note 22.

26\. Henrik Larsson has been a sorely-neglected figure in studies of the Maldini dynasty, despite being a great _condottiere_ in his own right and a pivotal figure in ensuring the stability of Paolo Maldini’s rule during Zlatan’s two-year stay in Sweden. The private papers to which Christian has referred have been subsequently lost—a notation in a later letter to Daniel hints that Christian may have destroyed them after having gotten the information he needed—which partly accounts for the neglect. Larsson also appears to have done as well as Inzaghi in staying out of official documents. In fact, the best accounts of his activities come from his years in Mameluke Egypt as a companion to the famed adventurer Luís Figo. L. M. Cha has pending a wonderful survey of the available texts from Egyptian historians, to be published in _The Renaissance Journal of Muslim-Christian Studies_ in spring 2009, while M. B. Flush’s _The Original Cool Hand: The Audacious Luís Figo_ is a good summary of what scanty knowledge is available.

27\. See Vol. 7, note 22.

28\. M. Brigitte. “Leisure Expenditures of Daniel Maldini,” _The Journal of Milanese History_ (2004): 3-33.

29\. Adriana Maldini was a trusted advisor to both her sons and lived to the ripe old age of seventy-three, a revered figure in Milanese society—ironic compared with the short, exciting but much better-studied lives of the famous men connected to her. She too has been a woefully neglected subject of historians. See Vol. 7, note 22.

30\. This book would risk mass opprobrium if it failed to note that Milanese historians have consistently argued it is _Milan_ who acquired the Habsburg empire and not the other way around due to the line of descent that remade Milan a Habsburg territory (a grandson of Daniel’s was invited to take over a vacant German principality and marry into the Habsburg line, and one of his descendents was elected Emperor after the main line died out).

31\. See H. Mine’s analysis of the Habsburg libraries, _You Are What You Read: The Collections of Emperors_.

32\. See note 20.

33\. For example, it has at times been claimed to have been displayed by the Comte St. Germain, secretly burned by the Vatican and bought off a used-bookseller’s cart by Ulrica Arfvidsson, the celebrated medium who purportedly predicted the assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden, to list only a few of the wild stories attached to it. 

34\. Q. Nin, “Sealed Up: A Secret History of Milan?” in _The Journal of Milanese History_ (2006): 3-13.

35\. L. G. Rou, “A Codicological Analysis of _The Book of the Green Field_ ,” _Codicology Studies in the Italian Renaissance_ (2007): 8-40.

36\. K. B. Lord, “Error or Slang? Syntactical Issues in _The Book of the Green Field_ ,” _Renaissance Linguistic Studies_ (2007): 11-45. W. Welsh, “A Well-Traveled Book: Diversity of Dialects in _The Book of the Green Field_ ,” _Renaissance Linguistic Studies_ (2007): 88-126. G. Akazam, “Who Wrote _The Book of the Green Field_? A Case for Compilation,” _Journal of Italian Renaissance Literature_ 2007: 13-76.

37\. See note 35.

38\. See note 35.

39\. See note 35.

40\. See note 35. Also see W. Welsh and G. Akazam, note 36.

41\. See G. Akazam, note 36.

42\. See G. Akazam, note 36.

43\. See Vol. 6, note 22, and D. Oak, note 13. 

44\. The most likely alternative theory claims that Zlatan and Daniel did in fact meet in Holland around 1519, and that Daniel subsequently aided Zlatan in escaping Habsburg territory. See D. Oak, note 13. Other theories are progressively wilder, with the Swedish folk tradition that Zlatan drowned while attempting to return to his birth country and then became a sort of ocean/storm god actually being the least fanciful. A fascinating survey of all theories is available in D. Oak’s _The Thousand Fates of Zlatan_.

45\. See Vol. 6-7, note 22.

46\. See K. B. Lord, note 36.

47\. See K. B. Lord, note 36. Also see D. Oak and M. B. Flush, note 13.

48\. For a thoughtful argument that _The Book of the Green Field_ is indeed authentic, read M. Brigitte’s “The Secret Life of Zlatan: The Maldini-Nesta-Zlatan Triumvirate Explained,” _The Journal of Milanese History_ , 2007. For an equally thorough argument for the opposing position, seek out B. Saint-Samedi’s “The Fantastic Maldini Fabulists: How the Myth of Zlatan Was Created,” _The Journal of Milanese History_ , 2007.

* * *

**Actual Bibliography**

I usually had one or two references serve as a main resource for each story, and these are marked with a ‘*’ except where noted. Generally I tried to rely on history books and where possible, scholarly versus popular-history ones, but I did resort to Wikipedia as a secondary authority for spot-checks of simple facts such as double-checking the dates of a ruler’s reign or geographical locations, thanks to its excellent maps. I also made use of GoogleMaps to estimate distances and consequently travel-time between two places.

Travel-time in _Green Field_ is generally predicated on the assumption that most of the characters, being largely people with money for good transportation, could average 25-30 miles a day. One exception is _Pilgrim_ , since the rivers and canal systems of Holland at the time allowed affluent people to travel faster. Another is Zlatan and his army, where I often used the assumption of 40-50 miles a day, since Zlatan borrowed heavily from Roman military techniques and could afford and was smart enough to employ local guides to show him shortcuts.

**The Tale of the Smith**

  * _The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time_ , John Kelly, ISBN 0060006935*
  * Wikipedia, various entries



**The Tale of the Soldier**

  * _The Complete Dracula_ , Radu Florescu & Raymond T. McNally, ISBN 0874115957* (contains _In Search of Dracula_ and _Dracula_ , but I relied mostly on Dracula as it had better citations and an appendix of translated Romanian/Russian/German sources)
  * _Romanians and Hungarians from the 9th to the 14th Century: The genesis of the Transylvanian medieval state_ , Ioan-Aurel Pop, ISBN 9735770377*
  * _The Roma in Romania_ , Viorel Achim, ISBN 1417537256 (electronic book)
  * _The Middle Sea: A History of the Mediterranean_ , John Julius Norwich, ISBN 1844133087 (info on the Ottoman military campaigns and the Catholic Church's Balkans policy in the 15th century)
  * _A Short History of Byzantium_ , John Julius Norwich, ISBN 0679772693 (mostly info on Mehmet's campaigns leading up to invading the Balkans, also background info on Hungary, Bulgaria, Western Europe's policy towards the Ottomans and the Balkans)
  * _A History of Venice, John Julius Norwich_ , ISBN 0679721975 (info on the Turks and the Catholic Church's Balkans policy in the 15th century)
  * Wikipedia, various entries



**The Tale of the Priest** : I could not find a good English-language history book on the Mameluke period in Egypt, so I relied on multiple academic papers. The very old ones I relied on only for descriptive information such as architecture, since the papers were written as firsthand accounts. History was taken from the post-1970 papers and Wikipedia, on which I relied to give me a simple linear account of events, provided it correlated with information in the papers.

  * “The Ottoman Turks and the Routes of Oriental Trade,” A. H. Lybyer, _The English Historical Review_ , Vol. 30, No. 120, p. 577-88 (1915)
  * “The Saracenic House-I,” Martin S. Briggs, _The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs_ , Vol. 38, No. 218, p. 228, 232-34, 236-38 (1921)
  * “The Circassians in the Mamluk Kingdom,” David Ayalon, _J. Amer. Oriental Society_ , Vol. 69, No. 3, p. 135-47 (1949)
  * “The Dinar versus the Ducat,” Jere L. Bacharach, _Int’l J. Middle East Studies_ , Vol. 4, No. 1, p. 77-96 (1973)
  * “Coptic Conversion to Islam under the Bahri Mamluks, 692-77/1293-1345,” Donald P. Little, _Bulletin of the Sch. of Oriental and African Studies_ , U. of London, Vol. 39, No. 3, p. 552-569 (1976)
  * “Urbanization and Monument Construction in Mamluk Cairo,” John Alden Willians, _Muqarnas: The Art of the Mamluk_ , Vol. 2, p. 33-45 (1984)
  * “Sha’ban, Barquq, and the Decline of the Mamluk Metalworking Industry,” James W. Allan, _Muqarnas: The Art of the Mamluk_ , Vol. 2, p. 85-94 (1984)
  * “The Mamluk Conception of the Sultanate,” Amalia Levanoni, _Int’l J. Middle East Studies_ , Vol. 26, No. 3, p. 373-392 (1994)
  * “The Ideological Significance of the Dar al-Adl in the Medieval Islamic Orient,” Nasser O. Rabbat, _Int’l J. Middle East Studies_ , Vol. 27, No. 1, p. 3-28 (1995)
  * “Militarization to Nomadization: The Middle and Late Islamic Periods,” Bethany J. Walker, _Near Eastern Archaeology_ , Vol. 62, No. 4, p. 202-32 (1999)
  * Wikipedia, various entries
  * _The Middle Sea: A History of the Mediterranean_ , John Julius Norwich, ISBN 1844133087 (I got this book after I wrote this story, and used it to confirm the papers)



**The Tale of the Ship-Captain**

  * _The History of the Ship: The Comprehensive Story of Seafaring from the Earliest Times to Modern Day_ , Richard Woodman, ISBN 1585746215
  * _Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII_ , David Starkey, ISBN 069401043X*
  * _Dogs of Gold: Columbus, the Inquisition, and the Defeat of the Moors_ , James Reston, Jr., ISBN 0385508484*
  * Wikipedia, various entries



**The Tale of the Doctor** : Like with _Priest_ , I couldn’t find a good English-language history book on Switzerland for the late fifteen century at the time that I wrote this story. I ended up relying heavily on Wikipedia’s articles while writing and then confirming information retroactively with other references; Wikipedia’s articles on Switzerland, however, are very well-written with excellent citations, so I considered them to be fairly trustworthy.

  * Personal communications from LJers hermine and nahco3 (“…how does this happen?” - LJ post 8-10-2007): Provided photos and first-hand descriptions of traditional Swiss buildings, playing cards, etc. and links to historical information on the Swiss.
  * Wikipedia, various entries*



**The Tale of the Condottiere**

  * _A History of Venice_ , John Julius Norwich, ISBN 0679721975*
  * _A Short History of Byzantium_ , John Julius Norwich, ISBN 0679772693
  * _The House of the Medici: Its Rise and Fall_ , Christopher Hibbert, ISBN 0688053394 
  * _Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling_ , Ross King, ISBN 0802713955
  * “The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church,” Francis A. Burkle-Young, available [online](http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/election-alexandervi.htm)* (very good, highly detailed description of events leading up to the election of Pope Alexander VI
  * Wikipedia, various entries



**The Tale of the Trader** : Like with _Priest_ , I couldn’t find a good English-language history book on Sweden at the time that I wrote this story. I have, however, been to Stockholm and while there I inhaled every single history museum to which I could drag my family, so I relied heavily on personal notes and other references I brought back from that trip.

  * Personal notes on Stockholm, particularly of the Vasamuseet (http://www.vasamuseet.se/InEnglish/about.aspx)*
  * Wikipedia, various entries



**The Tale of the Interpreter**

  * _Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII_ , David Starkey, ISBN 069401043X*
  * Wikipedia, various entries



**The Tale of the Diplomat** : No French history books are listed here. They were available, but the final plot focused on the attempted French invasion of Italy and not on France, so the information in France that I needed was basically limited to geography.

  * _The Middle Sea: A History of the Mediterranean_ , John Julius Norwich, ISBN 1844133087*
  * _A History of Venice_ , John Julius Norwich, ISBN 0679721975 (this book shows up repeatedly because although its subject is decidedly Venice, it also gives a thorough account of general Italian history, including the clashes of France and the Holy Roman Emperor over Milan in the late-fifteenth to early-sixteenth centuries)*
  * Wikipedia, various entries



**The Tale of the Courtier**

  * _The Civilization of the Middle Ages_ , Norman F. Cantor, ISBN 0060925531
  * _Ferdinand and Isabella_ , Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, ISBN 0-88029-744-1*
  * _Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII_ , David Starkey, ISBN 069401043X*
  * _Barcelona_ , Robert Hughes, ISBN 0-679-74383-9
  * Personal communications from the LJer hermine (a wonderful collection of photos and essays on her trip down the Santiago de Compostela)
  * Wikipedia, various entries



**The Tale of the Pilgrim**

  * _The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall: 1477-1806_ , Jonathan I. Israel, ISBN 978-0-19-820734-4 (ebook edition)
  * _The History of the Ship: The Comprehensive Story of Seafaring from the Earliest Times to Modern Day_ , Richard Woodman, ISBN 1585746215
  * _Holland Under Habsburg Rule, 1506-1566: The Formation of a Body Politic_ , James D. Tracy, ISBN 0-520-06882-3*
  * _In the Shadow of Burgundy: The Court of Guelders in the late Middle Ages_ , Gerard Nijsten [trans. by Tanis Guest], ISBN 0521820758
  * Wikipedia, various entries




End file.
